Fleurine

About Fleurine

b. The Netherlands. Singers who attracted Fleurine’s early attention and who in different ways led her to develop an interest in singing included Ella Fitzgerald, in particular the Song Book recordings and the duets with Louis Armstrong. She studied at the Amsterdam School of High Arts Conservatory and following graduation relocated to New York, USA. Since the early 90s, she has lived and worked both in her homeland and in America. Choosing to sing jazz, but eager to explore new ground, she began writing lyrics to jazz instrumentals. Among the composers whose work is now included in her repertoire are Ray Bryant, Kenny Dorham, Curtis Fuller, Tom Harrell, Thad Jones, Thelonious Monk, and Joshua Redman. Interestingly, some of Fleurine’s lyrics are written in English, others in Portuguese. She has appeared at leading New York and London clubs, including Birdland, Blue Note and Pizza Express, and has sung at several international festivals including those at Montreal and Edmonton in Canada, Havana, Cuba (where she appeared as guest vocalist with Roy Hargrove in 1996), Umbria in Italy, Istanbul in Turkey, and she has appeared on numerous occasions at the North Sea Jazz Festival in her homeland, including a 1997 guest appearance with Brad Mehldau. This last engagement led to her teaming up with the pianist for a New York date at the Village Vanguard, subsequent international tours and a 1999 record date. Among other jazzmen with whom she has performed live and on record are trumpeters Harrell and Don Sickler, saxophonists Seamus Blake and Ralph Moore, accordionist Gil Goldstein, pianist Renée Rosnes, guitarist Jesse van Ruller, bass players Christian McBride and Johan Plomp, and drummers Jeff Ballard and Billy Drummond. Plomp and van Ruller are long-standing accompanists of Fleurine. In addition to performing, Fleurine has also become involved in the production side of recording. In the early 00s, Fleurine’s repertoire expanded to include pop music of the 60s onwards, as well as jazz-inflected arrangements of classic French songs and contemporary Brazilian pop.

ORIGIN
The Netherlands
GENRE
Jazz

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